Game rangers should be honoured for the work that they do, a game rangers' association has said.

The organisation celebrates Game Rangers day on Wednesday, but has warned that the increase in poaching put their lives at risk.

"Many rangers lose their lives whilst protecting our natural heritage whether it is due to sickness, fire, animal related death or increasingly to armed skirmishes with poachers," said the Game Rangers' Association of Africa.

It reported that in 2012, 41 game rangers in Africa died in the line of duty and called on the public to support them in the work to protect endangered species.

"The Game Rangers' Association of Africa (GRAA) asks the international community to join us in saluting these brave men and women who have paid the ultimate price for conservation by celebrating their lives and indeed their calling on World Ranger Day."

Prince William

Rhino poachers represent one of the most dangerous threats to rangers and in 2013, at least 515 rhino have been killed, on course to almost double the number killed in 2012 at the current rate.The threat posed by poachers is intended to intimidate game rangers, said the head of the environmental crime investigation unit at the Kruger National Park. More....

The illegal trade of animals or animal parts has become one of the most lucrative black market activities in the world. Driven by the promise of high profit margins, poachers in Africa – namely militias, armed groups, and insurgent groups – have driven rhinos and elephants close to extinction, while murdering hundreds of park rangers in the process. NGOs and governments now face a race against time to reduce demand for wildlife trade, particularly in Asia, as well as to equip those on the front-line to fight a well-armed enemy.

Even going by the lowest estimates, wildlife crime is currently the 5th largest illicit transnational activity in the world, after counterfeiting and the illegal trafficking of drugs, people, and oil. The illicit sale of animals or animal parts is such big business that it attracts large criminal syndicates, as well as militia armed to the teeth. Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, estimates that illegal wildlife trade is worth US$8-10 billion per year, although a 2008 report for the US Congress says it could be closer to US$20 billion.In Africa, the situation is so dire that animals such as elephants and rhinos are being driven to the brink of extinction. Besides stealing the animals’ horns and tusks, poachers have killed hundreds of rangers who tried to get in their way. A substantial portion of the illegal goods are then shipped to Asia, where demand is driven by the need for specific animal parts to practice traditional Asian medicine, for human consumption, and as symbols of wealth.According to Dr Richard Thomas, the Global Communications Coordinator for Traffic, the demand for rhino horn, for instance, was mainly coming from Vietnam. More....

Unchecked rhino poaching in South Africa is "tantamount to acts of war" and has escalated "from an environmental issue to one of national security," the Game Rangers' Association of Africa (GRAA) has said. "Professionally trained and armed militia from Mozambique enter South Africa to plunder the country's natural resources on a daily basis," the GRAA said in a statement available to Xinhua on Wednesday. "These actions are tantamount to acts of war and such actions are putting not only South African citizens at risk but also one of South Africa's economic sectors namely tourism," the group said. It urged the South African government to take a zero tolerance approach to "what amounts to total disrespect of the country's borders". "We call for an increased South African National Defense Force presence on our borders to maintain their effectiveness in securing the property, economy and citizens of South Africa," said the GRAA. The South African government, the group said, must address the matter immediately with Mozambique at the highest possible diplomatic levels, with the mandated ministerial departments and to exert severe pressure on the Mozambican government to address the situation. "The current disregard by Mozambican citizens of the sovereignty of South Africa's borders cannot be allowed to continue. The situation has escalated from an environmental issue to one of national security. It is time to acknowledge this and act accordingly with the full force of the law." South Africa's rhino hold significant value within the ecotourism industry, the group said. More....

The rhino poaching crisis being experienced in the Kruger National Park is increasing in magnitude daily, the Game Rangers’ Association of Africa (GRAA) said.

"This situation has escalated to the point whereby as of 23 May, 1 065 rhino have been poached within the park since 2010."

The association said it finds the current situation deplorable.

"We acknowledge the role played by the dedicated field personnel who are attempting to keep this situation under control. The sacrifices that these men and women are making in order to ensure the preservation of our natural resources deserve further recognition and appreciation."

The GRAA called on President Jacob Zuma and the South African government to fully acknowledge the onslaught that rangers are facing while they attempt to protect not only South Africa’s rhino but its natural heritage in general.

"Professionally trained and armed militia from Mozambique enter South Africa to plunder the country’s natural resources on a daily basis. The current poaching situation needs to be moved beyond the responsibility of the department of environmental affairs."

The association called on the South African government to take a zero tolerance approach to what amounts to total disrespect of the country’s borders.

"We call for an increased South African National Defence Force presence on our borders to maintain their effectiveness in securing the property, economy and citizens of South Africa. More....

The illegal trade of animals or animal parts has become one of the most lucrative black market activities in the world. Driven by the promise of high profit margins, poachers in Africa – namely militias, armed groups, and insurgent groups – have driven rhinos and elephants close to extinction, while murdering hundreds of park rangers in the process. NGOs and governments now face a race against time to reduce demand for wildlife trade, particularly in Asia, as well as to equip those on the frontline to fight a well-armed enemy.Even going by the lowest estimates, wildlife crime is currently the 5th largest illicit transnational activity in the world, after counterfeiting and the illegal trafficking of drugs, people, and oil. The illicit sale of animals or animal parts is such big business that it attracts large criminal syndicates, as well as militia armed to the teeth. Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, estimates that illegal wildlife trade is worth US$8-10 billion per year, although a 2008 report for the US Congress says it could be closer to US$20 billion. In Africa, the situation is so dire that animals such as elephants and rhinos are being driven to the brink of extinction. Besides stealing the animals’ horns and tusks, poachers have killed hundreds of rangers who tried to get in their way. A substantial portion of the illegal goods are then shipped to Asia, where demand is driven by the need for specific animal parts to practice traditional Asian medicine, for human consumption, and as symbols of wealth. According to Dr Richard Thomas, the Global Communications Co-ordinator for Traffic, the demand for rhino horn, for instance, was mainly coming from Vietnam. More....

Amid an unprecedented spike in African elephant poaching, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) last week passed two motions it hopes will bolster protection for elephants and the park rangers who look after them. The motions were approved without debate at the World Conservation Congress in Jeju, South Korea. (Related: "In War to Save Elephants, Rangers Appeal for Aid.")The highest recorded rate of elephant poaching in a decade occurred in 2011, with tens of thousands of the animals slaughtered, their ivory smuggled out of East African seaports en route to East Asia. A 1989 CITES treaty banned international trade in elephant ivory.One motion calls on all countries with African elephants to "prioritize the protection and conservation of elephant populations" and to ensure adequate legislation, penalties, and incentive programs for local people living among elephants.Mary Rice, head of the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency, said by email that she has concerns about the elephant-protection motion, which "does not call for curbing the ongoing international illegal trade in ivory through coordination with key authorities such as INTERPOL.""This is crucial for tackling illegal wildlife trade, which is serious transnational organized crime."In the second motion, Africa's rangers asked the IUCN leadership "to encourage member states, governments, civil society, and local and international NGOs and foundations to provide support for the initiative of improved wildlife-resource protection." More....

His name is Baghdad, because of the bullet scar in his ear. He lives in a national park in Gabon, and he's one of only 20 African forest elephants left on Earth whose tusks touch the ground, making him worth about a hundred thousand U.S. dollars—dead."That's a sad reflection on our planet," Lee White, head of Gabon's national park system, said Sunday at a meeting of the World Conservation Congress in Jeju, South Korea, where conservationists are appealing for aid from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as African elephant populations plummet. (See blog posts from the congress.)With international crime syndicates coveting more and more elephant ivory—a symbol of wealth in booming Asia—numbers of the mammal have fallen to "crisis levels," according to a June report by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).The highest rate of elephant poaching since a global ivory ban in 1989 occurred in 2011, with tens of thousands of the animals slaughtered, their ivory shuttled out of West and, increasingly, East African seaports enroute mainly to China but also to other Asian consumer countries such as Thailand.About 472,000 to 690,000 African elephants—currently classified as vulnerable by IUCN—likely roam the continent today, down from possibly five million in the 1930s and 1940s.On Wednesday, the IUCN Member Assembly will vote on three proposed motions to increase protection of African wildlife targeted for illegal killing, particularly elephants and rhinoceroses.One of the motions, sponsored by the Game Rangers Association of Africa, would lend aid to park rangers, some of whom are being killed by well-armed poachers.Dozens of rangers have been killed this year in Africa, including 15 in the Kenya Wildlife Service alone."We're going into a phase now where we're basically at war," White said. "We're shifting from biologists being out in these parks to military people being out there." More....